


Zenith

by FoundlingMother



Series: Alternate MCU [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Canon-Typical Violence, Decapitation, Dismemberment, Gen, Happy Ending, Magic and Science, Major Character Injury, Mind Control, Mind Manipulation, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Psychological Torture, Temporary Character Death, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-28 03:26:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14440443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoundlingMother/pseuds/FoundlingMother
Summary: Heroes from every corner of the universe unite to battle Thanos. On a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, Thanos plans to use the artifacts to inflict his twisted will on reality. The fate of the planet and existence itself has never been more uncertain as everything our heroes have fought for has led up to this moment.An alternate send off to the heroes that built the MCU. An alternate Avengers: Infinity War.





	Zenith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story does follow from Debts, my alternate Thor: Ragnarok fic, but I don't think it's necessary to read that if you really don't want to (I mean, that's not even halfway written and I'm posting this). The most important differences are that Hela isn't Thor and Loki's sister, and they didn't land on Sakaar, but on Alfheim. Other references will be explained by the characters making them, so it shouldn't be too confusing. 
> 
> Please heed the tags. This isn't a fix-it in the sense that everything's going to be sunshine and rainbows. This is an alternate Infinity War. War isn't pretty. You also really won't like this fic if you're not a fan of Thor and Loki being the two most powerful people in the room, or if you hate the Guardians. Everyone will get a chance to shine, but I have my favorites and it shows.

_“I wouldn’t worry, brother. I feel like everything’s going to work out fine."_

* * *

“Children and noncombatants, report to the livestock deck. Prepare to be boarded,” Heimdall repeats Thor’s commands over the intercom. Ragnarok benefited the Æsir in one regard: the call to move quickly and orderly in a crisis is not beyond them. Loki maneuvers through the corridors with ease, simply carried along by the organized chaos.

_First step._

Electronic pads spill from Banner’s grasp as Loki enters the labs. They both trip attempting to pick them up, the shaking of the ship throwing them off balance.

“What’s going on?” Banner wonders. He drags himself up, palm flat against a counter top.

Loki pierces him with a withering look. “A Titan named Thanos is attacking this ship.” He hands Banner the pads. Banner cradles them against his chest.

“How do you know his name?”

“Listen carefully. I do not have time to repeat myself.” The ship shudders again. Shouts echo outside the lab. “Thanos sent me to Midgard. It was he who gave me the Scepter and the Chitauri. They are his army to command.” Bruce turns white as a sheet. “Mere fodder,” Loki warns. “The true threats are his children. Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, Cull Obsidian, Ebony Maw, Gamora, and Nebula. Maw is, by far, the most dangerous. He can manipulate your mind, make his will your own. Gamora and Nebula are weak links. Gamora possesses a heart. Nebula desires revenge.”

“Ok, but why is he attacking?”

“Thanos is enamored with death. He speaks of it as one might a lover. He needs no other reason to end lives across the universe.” Loki purses his lips. “Yet, he also seeks the Infinity Stones. Perhaps he believes we saved the Tesseract during Asgard’s destruction.”

Another strike shakes the ship, and the power fails. The lights flicker and die.

“We are out of time. Do you remember all I’ve told you?” Loki demands.

“I think so.” Banner swallows audibly. “Yes.”

“Excellent.” Loki turns his palm upward. He reaches.

The blue glow of the Tesseract illuminates Banner’s shocked face. “You have—”

“Do give my best regards to the mortal sorcerer,” Loki interrupts. His other palm lands against Banner’s forehead.

_...just a transformation...can learn to control...he might be evil but...insane academic...reminds me of Dr. Lee...the point we converge...I am Bruce and I am Hulk...shared thoughts...the key to unlock our connection…_

_“Only word I care about”...“And you just might”...”Safehouse”...“Hulk is my friend, and you are Hulk”... “Sun’s getting real low”_

_Now, Hulk!_

Green spreads over Banner’s features. He begins to grow, his shirt ripping. Loki focuses on the Tesseract. Space bends to his will. The portal swallows the Hulk, then snaps shut. He spares a half a moment to catch his breath.

_Second step._

The lifts will not function without power, so Loki sprints for the maintenance shaft. He drops down the ladder, palms singing against the smooth metal. The thud of his feet hitting the deck is punctuated by a cacophony of blood curdling screams from above. Loki cannot help the way his heart stops, freezing him in place. He blinks hard.

The door to the maintenance shaft bangs aside. Someone slams into the back of Loki’s legs.

“Gunnhild!”

“Prince Loki!” She glares up at him from a dirt-smudged face, red braids in disarray. “They need help! Valkyrie needs help!” Her hand rests on the short sword Hogan gifted her.

Loki drags her from the shaft. Gunnhild kicks against him. Her protests echo through the livestock deck, drawing terrified glances from the cowering Æsir.

When they draw near the huddled crowd, Loki drops to her level, forcing her to look him in the eyes. “Quiet,” he hisses. He studies the furious, determined young face. “If you are a warrior of Asgard, you serve her royal family. In the absence of Thor, I task you, Gunnhild Volstaggsdottir, with keeping our people safe.” Loki upturns his palms. Space warps. A chill carries over his skin, slate blue pigment chasing it. “And in my absence, I entrust you with my birthright. Do you understand your responsibility?”

Gunnhild thrums with energy. “I do. I won’t fail you.” She grasps the Casket of Ancient Winters, Loki’s seiðr protecting her hands from frostbite.

“I know you won’t,” Loki assures.

The Tesseract emerges between his fingers. He feels the weight of hundreds of stares on him. Moving them all through space, it’s not like moving a single person. It will drain him. He might not survive, even with the Casket’s power so near.

Loki focuses, utilizing the Tesseract to crawl among the branches of Yggdrasil.

_“Safehouse”_

Space bellows a silent scream, torn asunder.

Sensation returns slowly. Loki’s on his hands and knees; he can feel the cool floor beneath him. He dry heaves. The spots clear from his vision. No one remains in the room. The Tesseract lies a few paces in front of him. Loki crawls for it, tucking it back in its pocket of space. He climbs to his feet, knees knocking together.

_Last step._

* * *

Lightning charges the air, but it’s fading. “Battle” no longer describes the scene Loki comes upon. Corvus Glaive slices the throats of the few Æsir that remain standing, one after the other. The Valkyrie lies blood-soaked and unmoving atop two corpses. Loki cannot ascertain whether she still breathes. Heimdall chances a determined strike against Ebony Maw. An electric hum cuts through the air. The toxic light beam—Proxima’s spear—blasts Heimdall in the face. He’s blown backward and does not rise when the light recedes. Thor cries out brokenly.

“Hear me and rejoice. You have had the privilege of being slain by the Great Titan.” Ebony Maw nods to Loki in acknowledgement. “Smile, for with your final breath, you become children of Thanos, Death’s consort.”

Thanos lifts Thor by his head, bringing them eyelevel. “I used to fear her, my Lady Death. To what end?” Loki steps forward, drawing the Titan’s gaze. Thanos looks at Loki, knowing smile spreading. He lumbers toward him. His children surround Loki. Proxima’s spear buzzes to his right. “Dread it, run from it, my love comes for you all the same.” Loki glances at Thor. His chest heaves, yet he seems to gag on the indrawn air. Thanos raises the Infinity Gauntlet, one of the Infinity Stones set within it. The Power Stone, Loki assumes. It sparks to life. “The Tesseract or your brother’s head,” Thanos bargains, amused. “I assume you have a preference.”

“Oh, I do.” Loki forces himself to hold Thanos’ stare. “Kill away.”

The side of Thor’s head ripples and cracks where Thanos presses the Power Stone against it.

Thor screams.

Loki’s jaw clenches. No matter how hard he tries to keep his eyes steady, he cannot help but glance at his brother. Panic rises. He breathes more rapidly, but pain blooming his chest obstructs the flow of air. He can feel the pounding of his blood.

Thor’s wails begin to rasp, throat raw. His sizzling flesh and burning hair produces an acrid odor that overpowers the typical battlefield smells of blood and excrement.

Black rings the edges of Loki’s sight.

“Alright, stop!”

The Power Stone deactivates, fading purple glow revealing a burned bruise over Thor’s temple. His shorn hair around the discoloration is singed and black. Thor groans. “We don’t have the Tesseract. It was destroyed on Asgard.”

Loki raises his arm, producing the Tesseract.

“You really are the worst brother.” Thor may feel betrayed, but the knife Loki twists is impaled in his own back. A million reassurances run through his mind—Asgard will not fall here, some of their people are safe, and Loki has taken certain precautions—but, in front of Thanos, he remains silent.

Thanos’ eyes glint, reflecting the blue light of the Tesseract. He rumbles a dark laugh. “No wonder these people presented no challenge. You must not be very loyal to your king, Asgardian, to keep something like this from him.”

“Well, I’m not Asgardian,” Loki states.

Thanos drops Thor. The fool attempts to stand. Ebony Maw waves a hand. Wreckage swirls and seals itself around Thor, covering even his mouth.

Thanos relieves Loki of the Tesseract. He closes his fist around it and tenses.

_Crack!_

Ebony Maw collapses on bended knee. “My Humble personage bows before your grandeur. No other being has ever had the might, nay, the nobility to wield not one, but two, Infinity Stones. The Universe lies within your grasp.”

The Space Stone clicks against the metal of the Infinity Gauntlet, setting itself in place. Purple and blue light sparks when Thanos clenches his fist, grinning. He scans his children. “There are two more Infinity Stones on Terra. Find them, my children, and bring them to me.”

They bow their heads in deference. “Father, we will not fail you,” Proxima intones.

Loki inhales. “If I might interject.” Five sets of eyes land on him. “If you’re going to 'Terra', you might want a guide. You know, a bit of experience in that arena.” He spreads his arms.

“If you consider failure experience,” Thanos quips.

“I consider experience experience.” Loki forces himself to take a step closer, within Thanos’ reach. “All mighty Thanos, I, Loki, Prince of Asgard and Jotunheim. God of Mischief.” He locks eyes with Thor, willing him to understand. “Odinson…,” he entreats. Thor’s brow creases. Loki swallows, turning away. “I do hereby pledge to you my undying fidelity.”

Thanos studies him, expressionless. “Undying?”

Loki forces his tensed muscles to relax. Seiðr hums just beneath his skin.

The Titan wraps his gauntleted hand around Loki’s neck. He squeezes. “You should choose your words more carefully, _Odinson_.”

He claws at the Infinity Gauntlet. Legs swinging. Lungs burning. Vision swimming. Gasping. Gulping. Slipping. Loki twists his lips, half smirking, half grimacing.

“You... will never be a god...”

Loki's seiðr discharges, warping the environment. Bending space to its will. 

A trick. Life for life.

* * *

_Snap!_

Thor howls behind the debris covering his mouth.

Thanos walks toward him, limp figure dangling from his loose grasp. Loki’s body thunks before Thor. His broken neck tilts at an uncomfortable angle.

“No more tricks. Not this time.” Thanos will suffer a fate worse than death. This and more Thor promises with a look. The debris pinning him trembles.

The Titan smiles. He steps back, glancing around him, reveling at the sight of the corpses of Thor’s people. Thanos raises his gauntleted fist high, Infinity Stones lighting. Purple energy etches its way over the hull of the ship. A portal envelopes Thanos and his children.

The debris prison collapses.

Thor crawls forward. He buries his face against his brother’s breast.

 _The look in his eyes when he said_ _Odinson_.

“Loki,” Thor breathes, clutching Loki’s collar. “Loki. Loki.”

Sobs break against the lifeless chest beneath him.

__The last of Thor’s kingdom explodes in the endless expanse of space._ _

* * *

“Do you think Cooper’s going to be taller than me?”

“Probably,” Laura hums, tucking herself more snugly against Clint’s chest. “He’s like my dad. Long legs.”

Clint sighs.

“Don’t breathe so deeply, honey.” Laura pats his stomach. “ _I’m_ still trying to sleep.”

“Sorry.” He rubs a hand up and down the leg she’s thrown across him. Laura’s always been an aggressive cuddler, a trait he adores.

The peaceful stillness of the early morning is interrupted by an eruption.

Clint’s hearing aid screeches an entire orchestra directly in his ear. He flinches, throwing himself over Laura. Her fingers clench his shirt over his left pectoral.

The noise fades.

“The kids!” Laura gasps.

Clint’s already off the bed, throwing the closet open, and gripping his bow—the one he’s not technically supposed to have—in hand. “Go to them. I’ll see what’s up.”

He hits two steps on the way down the stairs, notching an arrow. He ducks into the living room, hovering under a window. It will take him three seconds to break the glass. Five more seconds to shoot. Eight seconds total. Whatever’s on the other side better be slow. Or friendly.

Clint’s not relying on good luck. Back pressed against the wall, he levers himself up to peer over the windowsill.

Three hundred or so people—Shakespearian actors, judging by the way they’re dressed—stand bathed in twilight. Over half of them are children. Clint spots a toddler, watching the house with red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

Laura and Cooper were held at gunpoint once. He hates seeing an expression of true fear on a toddler’s face.

Clint doesn’t take the bow with him. He opens the front door, leaving it ajar, and does nothing to avoid the creaking of the deck. Laura will hear, recognize his footsteps, and know there’s no threat.

An aging woman collapses to her knees, pressing kisses to the dirt beneath her. A few people take notice of him crossing towards them. Some press themselves back. Agitated. Skittish. They’re like wounded animals.

The girl that trudges closer over the dew-moistened land appears no older than ten. There’s a deadly blade strapped to her hip, and an even deadlier glower marring her face. She halts, clutching an ornate, ice blue box to her chest.

“I am Gunnhild, daughter of Volstagg, Second of the Valkyrior, warrior of Asgard. I speak on behalf of King Thor.” Her tearful eyes reflect the rising sun. “Please, help us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dear readers, look to the tags, and know this is not the end. It is only the beginning. Comments would be greatly appreciated.

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](https://foundlingmother.tumblr.com/) | [Dreamwidth](https://foundlingmother.dreamwidth.org/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/foundlingmother)


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